The Development of Visualization Skills in Engineering Students

这个项目的目的是在1995年夏天在密歇根技术大学(MTU)举办一次教师研讨会。这些工作坊的重点是发展工科学生3-D空间可视化技能的教学和评估技术。该项目以国家科学基金会在课程和课程开发领域的一个项目的成果为基础并加以传播。前一个项目的产品是开发3-D空间可视化能力的教科书和使用I-DEAS软件的附带计算机实验手册。工作坊的目标受众是主要负责教授工程设计图学的本科生教师。许多进入工科的学生，尤其是女性，缺乏发展三维空间可视化能力的背景经验。因此，他们不准备在自己的图形课程中平等竞争。这个工作坊为工程设计图形学教育者提供了他们所需要的工具，以弥合他们许多学生背景中的差距。据估计，有25名参与者，每年约有2500名工程学新生将受益于使用开发的材料和改进的3-D空间可视化教学技术。这一改进增加了女性工程学学生在其图形课程中的第一次体验是积极体验的可能性，从而增强了女性工程学学生的留存能力。研讨会想法的传播是由研讨会参与者在他们的工程设计图形课程中实施本国机构的变革计划时进行的。通过电子邮件和在专业会议上与其他参与者和项目协调员联系，为工作坊参与者的努力提供支持。参与者在工作跳跃结束时填写一份评估问卷。

The purpose of this project is to conduct a faculty workshop to be held during the summer of 1995 at Michigan Technological University (MTU). The focus of these workshops is on teaching and assessment techniques for the development of 3-D spatial visualization skills in engineering students. This project builds on and disseminates the products of an NSF project in the area of Course and Curriculum Development. The products of this previous project are a textbook for the development of 3-D spatial visualization ability and an accompanying computer lab manual which utilizes I-DEAS software. The target audience for the workshops is undergraduate faculty with primary responsibility in teaching engineering design graphics. Many entering engineering students, particularly women, lack background experiences which would develop 3-D spatial visualization ability. Consequently, they are not prepared to compete on an equal basis in their graphics classes. This workshop provides engineering design graphics educators with the tools they need to bridge this gap in the backgrounds of many of their students. It is estimated that with 25 participants, approximately 2500 engineering freshman per year will benefit from the use of the developed materials and improved teaching techniques for 3-D spatial visualization. This improvement increases the likelihood that the first experience of women engineering students in their graphics curriculum is a positive experience, enhancing retention of female engineering students. Dissemination of workshop ideas is carried out by workshop participants as they implement plans for change at their home institutions in their engineering design graphics curricula. Work- shop participants are supported in their efforts by being networked together through e-mail and through contact with other participants and the project coordinators at professional meetings. An evaluation questionnaire is completed by the participants at the end of the works hop.